Aviation Maintenance Regulations, Documentation, and Safety
Domain 10 tests regulations, records, and safety practices that govern powerplant maintenance.
Maintenance and return to service
- Part 43 defines maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alteration.
- A certificated A&P may perform and approve maintenance; an IA may approve annual inspections and major repairs or alterations.
- Preventive maintenance by a pilot is limited to the list in Part 43 Appendix A.
- Major repairs and alterations require Form 337; return to service is recorded in the maintenance record.
Records and compliance
- Logbook entries include date, total time, description, signature, certificate number, and approval basis.
- Airworthiness directives must be complied with and recorded; service bulletins are not mandatory unless incorporated.
- Form 8130-3 is an airworthiness approval tag, not a maintenance release in all cases.
- 100-hour inspections are required for aircraft used for hire; a 10-hour overrun is allowed to reach a place where inspection can be done.
Safety
- Use lockout/tagout, PPE, and SDS; control fuel, solvents, and ignition sources.
- Run engines only with proper tie-downs, fire equipment, and a propeller safety zone.
Worked example
An aircraft operated for hire has a 100-hour inspection due at 1,250 hours. It can be flown 10 hours over to reach a maintenance base, provided the inspection is completed before further flight and the overrun is recorded. The reasoning: the overrun is for reaching a place where the inspection can be accomplished, not for continuing revenue flights.
Traps
Signing an annual as a 100-hour; doing preventive maintenance beyond the appendix; recording an AD as complied without method; using an 8130-3 as a substitute for a logbook entry.